March 23, 2006
Lee Young-Ae
This may be an inauspicious way to start but I want to get it right out there. I don't think Lee Young-ae is a very good actor. Then why am I doing a column about her? Well, she has the luck to be in some of the best and most interesting media coming out of South Korea. She is also very pretty and rather charismatic. In everything I've seen her in, I can't help but like her. And you'll like her too. Because you can't not.
Despite this like-ability, I can't say I really noticed her at all when I first saw her in JOINT SECURITY AREA. More than anything, she's too young to be taken seriously in the role. But then I saw her in DAE JANG-GEUM which, regular readers of my columns may have noticed, I consider to be the finest thing ever put on television anywhere. But now she's teamed back up with Park Chan-wook, the internationally respected auteur whose name is more well known here than hers, to be LADY VENGEANCE.
Other than the two films with Park Chan-wook, I'm only aware of three other films that she's done. One was quite popular, a romance called ONE FINE SPRING DAY. But she has done a number of television shows. Evidently she speaks not only Korean but English (which she uses a lot in JOINT SECURITY AREA) and German. The latter comes from her BA in German Literature and she also got a Masters in Theater and Film. Who knew?
But let me start with what you probably clicked on this column to read about......
SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE
So, this is the third film in a loose theme-based trilogy by Korea's Park Chan-wook. The first film was SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE (2002, starring Song Kang-ho and Shin Ha-kyun) and the second was OLDBOY (2003, starring Choi Min-sik). To save you the confusion that I had -- the stars of these films all appear in LADY VENGEANCE but as different characters. In fact, Choi Min-sik is second billed and I was confused for a number of minutes until I realized he was playing a completely different character. I cannot say enough good things about Choi Min-sik as an actor (the ways I gush about him pale only in comparison to my feelings on DAE JANG GEUM). Although, his English leaved a little to be desired.
But I am getting ahead of myself. What’s the movie about? Geum-ja (Lee Young-ae) is released from prison after 13 years for killing a child. As you might assume, she sets out to get some revenge on those who put her there.
She has constructed a rather elaborate plan. There are flashbacks to her days in prison to show her breeding loyalty among the inmates so they'll do her various favors once she is released. The plan does seem pretty well thought out on her part but I regret not ever getting a proper big picture look at it. The film moves so quickly from one thing to the next you don't really get a second to notice whether it's clever or not.
But needless to say, everything moves in this direction and she’s about to complete her plan when a twist takes Geum-ja and the movie in unexpected directions.
The main theme of the film ends up being remarkably similar to the film M (1931), except for a different point of view. And not to give anything away, but in the first two films of the vengeance trilogy you more or less learn that vengeance is bad and useless. But in this film Park Chan-wook seems to be telling us -- that sometimes, it’s ok.
The movie displays the filmmaker’s usual stylish flair and penchant for violence (although there is less gruesome onscreen violence in this film than the previous two I think). Ultimately, it’s not as good a film as the other two. It seems to lack a consistency that the other films have. OLDBOY is particularly outstanding and a hard feat to reproduce. Still, a somewhat-less-than-great Park Chan-wook film is still certainly worth your time. But if you haven’t seen any of them, I’d almost recommend watching this one first.
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While the dramatic build may be less involving, the movie always remains interesting and never boring. As for Lee Young-ae, she has a relatively complicated character to play. I don’t feel like we really know her in the end. You get the sense that the Geum-ja from 13 years ago, the Geum-ja of prison, and the Geum-ja when she gets out are very different people. But of course, Lee Young-ae has the unique talent to make you root for her no matter what she’s doing. And her ultimate goal remains mysterious for a good chunk of the film so you’re always interested in what will happen next.
In fact, keeping you interested in what will happen next, and leaving open the possibility that it could be anything at all, is one of Park’s greatest strengths. All of his movies’ I’ve seen (MR VENGEANCE, OLDBOY and JSA) do this very well and also have a couple of twists which are at the same time outrageous and entirely believable.
So, like all of Park’s work, this movie is fascinating in it’s own way even if it’s not as jaw-droppingly amazing as OLDBOY. And like all of Lee’s works, she attracts you to her in an unfathomable way. And it’s pleasant to end the trilogy on what is ultimately a happier note of actual redemption.
Tartan was planning on releasing this film in US theaters but they keep pushing it back. The latest word I can find is a release date of May 5th (which is only one week later than the last date I heard which was April 28th). Either way, if you live in a major metropolitan area, it should be coming your way fairly soon. If you don’t, it should be hitting domestic DVD fairly soon after that. If you can’t wait then just import it like the rest of us.
JSA
I’m going to break my backwards chronology and tackle the other Park Chan-wook film with Lee Young-ae, JOINT SECURITY AREA. I first saw this film 6 years ago and I think it was the first Korean film I had ever seen. And frankly I was a bit confused by it. But watching it again, knowing a lot of the actors and being able to tell them apart, and knowing the basics of the story, it was a much more satisfying experience.
Two North Korean soldiers are killed on the North Korean Side of the DMZ (De-militarized Zone) by a South Korean soldier. The North Koreans say he came over the line and started shooting, the South Korean say he was kidnapped and shot his way out. There needs to be an investigation and eventually both sides agree on letting the NNSC handle it - a neutral organization which consists of professionals from Sweden and Switzerland.
The lead investigator is Sophie Jean (Lee Young-ae) who is Swiss but also half Korean. She investigates the surviving North Korean soldier Sgt. Oh (Song Kang-ho, MR. VENGEANCE himself) and the South Korean soldier in question, Sgt. Lee (Lee Byung-hun, 3-IRON). And of course, the story goes much deeper than anyone expects.
The film has more twists than an hour of 24. Some of them matter and some of them don’t but it’s why you need to know who is who fairly early on or you’ll get lost along the way (like I did the first time). The film doesn’t get into the politics too much, although it obviously addresses the North-South divide.
I always enjoy Korean action/thrillers that address the North-South divide. Because it gives it such a legitimacy. When you peel back the twists, the core point of this film is heartbreaking. There is a line on the ground that keeps the countries apart.
The film reminds me very much of A FEW GOOD MEN. I’m sure I’m not the first to make the comparison. But a thriller in which a an investigatory figure has to get to the truth of a situation that no one wants made public.
Lee Young-ae’s part as the young investigator (a bit too young to be taken seriously if you ask me), with her Clarice Starling haircut and make-up, is the ultimate outsider. But she’s a good lead to connect to non-Korean audiences showing us the complexity and simplicity of the North-South issue.
She’s a bit overshadowed by the very good performances by the leading men. Song Kang-ho is very likeable and Lee Byung-hun shows great strength and vulnerability as an actor.
I won’t get into the fact that characters have flashbacks to things they couldn’t have seen, but will say the structure of the film could have been tightened up a little. That’s the greatest fault in this film really, because technically it’s quite good. But the story wanders a bit and would really be terrific if it was tighter.
Nonetheless, the story is very powerful and if you want to see Park’s work on a commercial film and a very fine entry into the genre of North-South Korea thrillers (for it really is a whole genre), then definitely check this film out. For as big as it was internationally shortly after it’s released, I feel like it’s been eclipsed since by other Korean blockbusters and Park’s new place as an international auteur. But it’s still a very good film and due to subject matter, probably the most emotionally affecting of all the films Park’s done. (He is often charged that his films lack heart, but this film doesn’t have that problem).
This film was a huge, huge hit in Korea and gave Park the artistic freedom to do a film like SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE. (MR. VENGEANCE did not do well at the box office but OLDBOY and MRS. VENGEANCE did thanks to the big stars -- Choi Min-sik and Lee Young-ae).
JSA had a fairly good DVD release. You might be able to find it in your local video store (you never know with foreign films and local stores, it’s always a random assortment) and it is available from Netflix and Greencine.
DAE JANG GEUM
DAE JANG GEUM means simply "The Great Jang Geum" -- that being the character’s name. But the English title of the show is often JEWEL IN THE PALACE. It’s a 52 episode Korean drama that aired in 2003.
This show is unbelievably successful in Asia. Not just in Korea but in all the East Asian countries where it was shown. To quote Wikipedia: "In Hong Kong, according to television viewing statistics, the last episode of DAE JANG GEUM had almost half of the Hong Kong population stayed at home just to watch it."
Jang-geum’s (Lee Young-ae) dream is to become a royal kitchen lady like her mother was. And through a concurrence of events, she is able to enter the palace as a young girl to train as a kitchen lady. But right away she makes friends and enemies (and both will follow her through her life). Her teachers and superiors were classmates of her mother leading to complicated, generational storylines.
When Jang-geum grows up, she begins a friendship with the decidedly hunky Min (Ji Jin-hee), but all kitchen ladies are more or less 'married to the king' so it can’t be anything more than that.
The vast majority of the show consists of Jang Geum’s enemies, jealous of her natural talent and still bitter over old grudges, doing terrible things to her and her suffering through it with her Pollyanna-esque demeanor. Really she gets through it all be cause she grasps firmly to her goal of becoming the head kitchen lady.
Eventually the show turns away from kitchen life, since the historical Jang-geum was a female doctor. Female doctors were fairly unusual at the time when Confucian patriarchy was popular. The historical Jang-geum is merely a one line mention in a historical book and nothing else is known about her.
From a technical standpoint the show looks great. The sets, the costumes, the cinematography, the main actors -- all gorgeous! And the drama is very high in the king’s court where death is an easy punishment for minor offenses. And it’s informative! You learn a lot about Asian cooking and traditional medicine. It made me more and more curious about the relation of food and health. Wait, I’m making it sound boring again aren’t I?
I can’t deny it’s a soap opera. A lot of the drama can be compared to a show like DALLAS or even DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES because it often revolves around petty female grievances. But court politics is something that can appeal to more than the usual stay-at-home-housewives who watch the daytime shows. This show has a lot more to offer.
And Lee Young-ae is quite good in it. Largely because she really gets to use her charm as Jang-geum and she easily carries the behemoth 52-episode show on her shoulders. Her angelic face, which they also make use of in LADY VENGEANCE in a different way, plays very well as the practically martyred character always keeping you on her side and allowing you to share in her pain and victory.
When I was watching the show I read up on it online and saw that many people found the show life changing, an effect I laughed off as too ridiculous to be true. But in the end, I sort of did find it to be true. Just like you can’t help liking Lee Young-ae, you can’t help being affected by this show and by Jang-geum arduous journey. But it’s been hard for me to convince other people to devote themselves to a 52 episode historical Korean soap opera about a woman who works in the royal kitchen. Yeah, it’s a tough sell.
Now, people who are big Park Chan-wook fans may be even harder to convince of this. But I’ll try by addressing the positive aspects of Korean dramas over other television shows. For one, all the episodes are written by the same guy and all are directed by the same guy. The show also does not run indefinitely but is planned to be a certain amount of episodes. This is a great advantage over American TV because the shows have definite beginnings, middles and ends with no jump-the-shark filler episodes. They also have a consistency of vision with the writers and directors being the same throughout. In this way they are like mini-series that we have here but they run longer. No other Korean drama I’ve watched has run 52 episodes like Jang-geum, but it happens.
Also, one group of non-Asian Americans who have really started to become the biggest audience for these shows are actually Christians. It started largely because there are a lot of Korean Christians and so other Christians were amenable to watching Korean shows to get to know their culture. But Korean dramas, unlike American soap operas, are very clean. You’ll never see or hear of any sex and you’ll be lucky if you see a peck on the check. I may be scaring off the Park Chan-wook fans again, but this is actually an advantage to telling a lot of these stories. They come off as classier than the often smutty American soaps.
Well, if any of this about Korean dramas sounds appealing to you, then know that Jang-geum is the best of the bunch. It's an emotional rollercoaster like you’ve never experienced. I now consider it the number one television show I’ve ever seen, shaking up a top ten list of mine that hasn’t budged in quite some time. So yes, I recommend it very highly.
I believe they showed the series on the AZN cable network fairly recently but I don’t believe they have any plans to re-show it. Many major metropolitan areas have local international stations that show subtitled Korean dramas -- the most well known and popular one is in Chicago. Yesasia.com sells the series in a three volume set at $70/volume. The same set is available on Amazon.com For a little bit more.
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